Tech dominates the twinbill at Martin, OVC streak at 11

MARTIN, Tenn. - It took 20 innings of play, but the Golden
Eagles earned a pair of wins in Saturday's double header against
the UT-Martin Skyhawks.

Junior Cassanova Donaldson was the hero in game one, leading the
attack with five hits and two RBI. A.J. Kirby-Jones was 3-for-5 and
Chad Oberacker went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.

Starter Adam Liberatore worked 7 1/3 innings without a decision.
Stephen Pryor (4-3) earned the win, pitching 4 2/3 innings in
relief, while Chason Choate tossed the final inning to claim his
second save of the season.

Tied 6-6 through regulation, the two squads battled through
three scoreless innings before Tech rallied for three in the top of
the 13th for a 9-6 lead. The Skyhawks scored one in the bottom of
the inning before Choate slammed the door.

Liberatore scattered nine hits, allowing five earned runs while
walking two and striking out six. Pryor took over in the eighth
inning, going 4 2/3 while allowing two runs on three hits. He
walked four and struck out eight.

Choate walked two and gave up one run in the 13th before
finishing up.

Reliever Drew Flaniken (1-3) was charged with the loss for UTM,
going four innings and allowing three runs on five hits. He walked
four and struck out six.

The host Skyhawks charged out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning
but Oberacker’s two-run home run in the fourth helped the
Golden Eagles score three and close the gap to one run. Tech added
two more in the fifth for a 5-4 lead.

Each team put a single run on the board in the eighth, and the
Skyhawks tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth to force
extra innings.

Once again, Oberacker was the one who lit the fuse on the
three-run 13th inning for the Golden Eagles. He led off with a
double and eventually scored a go-ahead run on a passed ball. After
a couple of walks, Chad Hayes delivered an RBI single and Austin
Wulf did the same to make it 9-6.

Tech finished with 19 hits in the game and went flawless in the
field. UT Martin had 12 hits and one error.

Lee Henry had a phenomenal performance for Tech in game two,
pitching his second complete game of the season and allowing only
two runs off of four hits and two walks. Henry fanned eight
Skyhawk batters and kept Martin off the board through the first
three innings to get the win.

Tech had the hot bats early in the first inning, when Austin
Wulf singled to right center and stole second. A.J. Kirby-Jones
singled to left field and advanced to second when Wulf moved ahead
to third. A wild pitch and a double by Chad Oberacker brough both
baserunners in to put two on the board for the Golden Eagles.
Wulf would go on to go 3-for-5 with one RBI on the day.

Henry went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first, and walked one
batter in each the second and third innings, only to leave them
stranded on base. Martin finally put up one run in the fourth when
Ty Nelson lined a double to left center and scored on a single by
Jordan Owen.

The Golden Eagles stretched their lead to two in the fifth
inning, but really busted the game open with a solid performance at
the plate in the seventh inning. Oberacker, who went 2-for-3 with
one RBI, knocked his second double of the game into left center
field and stole third after Casanova Donaldson took first on a
hit-by-pitch. With runners on the corners Devin Rivers (3-for-4 on
the day) scored Oberacker and pushed Donaldson to second with a
single to left field.

Frankie Beech brought Donaldson across the plate with a base hit
and moved Rivers into scoring position for Wulf, who rounded out
the three run inning by ripping a shot through the right side to
send Rivers home. Wulf advanced to second on the play at the plate.

With two Tech batters in scoring position, Alec Mills relieved
Coty Green and promptly loaded the bases by catching Doug Martin
with an inside pitch. Hot hitter A.J. Kirby-Jones stepped up to the
plate for the grand slam opportunity, but Mills and the Skyhawk
outfield got out of the jam by snagging Kirby-Jones' hit into
center field.

Martin threatened in the bottom of the seventh when Owen
launched a long ball and Brant Morris singled through the right
side, but Henry (5-3) induced a ground out and a line out and got
Matt Young swinging to clinch the game for the Tech.

One again, the Golden Eagles boasted perfection behind Henry in
the field and logged 14 hits for the game.

The loss was charged to Coty Green (9-3) who allowed all 14 hits
in 6 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked two.

Tech (25-22) improved to 11-5 in OVC play. The Golden Eagles
entered the day in second place in the conference standings, two
games behind Murray State (11-5) in the win column. The Racers held
that edge with a 7-5 victory over Morehead State in their first
game Saturday, but the second game was suspended by rain in the
eighth inning with the teams tied at 4-4.

The Golden Eagles will look to give Martin the broom in Sunday's
final game for their fourth straight conference series sweep.
Sunday's finale will start at 1:00pm.